Ecommerce Business Credit Card Processing Services

Do you need payment processing to accept credit card and e-check payments securely in real time on your web site? Don't know where to start to setup your ecommerce merchant retail account? You're not alone. This page should get you started on the right foot.

This is basically how an ecommerce business credit card processing service transaction works:
The potential customer lands on the merchant's web site. From there, he decides (hopefully)that he wants to purchase something, so he is moved to the online transaction server where all of the information he gives is encrypted. Once he has placed his order, the information moves through a private gateway to a Processing Network, where the issuing and acquiring banks approve or decline the transaction. All this is probably no more than 5-7 seconds!

Lets explain each of these items one-at-a-time:

1.An Internet Credit Card Merchant Processing Account An Internet Merchant Account is entirely different from a retail Merchant Account in almost every respect. This is because the technology is different, the fraud and risk factors are very different, the security and privacy challenges are different...in short, just about everything is different.

You shouldn't have a great deal of trouble being accepted for a US ecommerce Merchant account providing (a) you have decent personal and business credit, and (b) your product or service is fairly 'mainstream'. As with any Merchant account, the process involves finding an Acquirer who accepts applications for internet merchants, then going through the application process.

Again, as with any other Merchant account, here are the things you should pay attention to when selecting your credit card processor:

• Negotiate a fair discount rate and fee structure (see DISCOUNT RATES section)
• Understand the 'ins and outs' of credit card processing and avoid common pitfalls (See TOP TEN MISTAKES)
• Be careful not to create a "compatability nightmare" for yourself, since so many different elements are involved. For instance, you don't want to find out that your shopping cart doesn't work with the processing platform your Acquirer set you up on. If you don't know exactly what you're doing, seek advise from someone who does(ahem...such as your humble webhost here).

For directions to some of the very best sources for Internet Merchant Accounts, please go to the CONTACT US section at the bottom of this page

2. Web Hosting: There are literally thousands of firms out there who can design and/or host your web site. Unless you are doing it yourself, you'll probably want to select someone near your home or business to maintain the all-important hands-on touch you'll want. I'll offer two very good suggestions on this subject:

• 1.The suggestion on compatibility mentioned earlier on this page applies here as well. Make sure you are dealing with someone who knows what he/she is doing.
• Getting your website built and hosted is only half the battle. Make sure you are dealing with someone who knows something about search engine placement as well. It doesn't matter how snazzy the website looks if nobody can find it on the web

We're not in the hosting business, but if you'd like our insight on this subject, please don't hesitate to CONTACT US at the bottom of this page.

3. Obtaining a digital certificate A digital certificate, also known as a SSL Server Certificate, enables SSL (Secure Socket Layer encryption) on the web server. SSL protects communications so you can take credit card orders securely and ensure that hackers cannot eavesdrop on you. Any eCommerce processor will require you to have SSL before you can use their services. For a minimal fee, one can normally use the certificate owned by the web hosting company or Gateway providor you are using. If you are a larger company, you might want to get your own SSL certificate through VERISIGN or a similar wellknown provider.

4. Contracting with a provider of online transactions, AKA a "Gateway" provider: Finding a good gateway provider package is perhaps the most important aspect in creating an eCommerce website. Everything in the entire package revolves around, and must be compatible with, the Gateway. The Gateway is literally the heart of the ecommerce system; if it fails, everything dies with it.

In our opinion (obviously shared by lots of other people judging from their client roster) Authorize.net is the obvious choice. The reasons are many:

• Their pricing options are hard to beat
• The provide top-notch SSL encryption included
• They are seamlessly compatible with virtually every major Shopping Cart provider out there, including Miva, X-Cart, and others. Remember we spoke about compatibility issues? Trust us, easy is better than difficult when it comes to making all the components of your ecommerce site work.

We discussed many good Shopping Cart providers in the previous paragraph. Be very careful with compatibility issues involving shopping cart, gateway, and merchant services provider.

HINT: If you are very small, just getting started, or have a very limited budget, you might want to begin with PAYPAL which includes it's own rudimentary but usable and low cost shopping cart. Since Paypal is month-to-month with no long-term obligation, you can start simple and upgrade to something more sophisticated when your sales warrant such expansion and expense. Just click the link below to set up with Paypal immediately..

Please click here E-commerce FAQ's for more useful information.